Controller Doesn't work.

[Nintega137]

No controller I try to use (logitech, switch, 360 controller) will work. The game recognizes it, but If I push anything on it nothing ever happens. I've tried big picture mode, I've tried joytokey, I've tried reconfiguring it, nothing works.

[mjengel13]

First make sure your controller is plugged in or paired to your computer (if using Bluetooth). Go to Steam>Settings>Controller> and click "General Controller Settings." Once there, look in the bottom right. It should state that a controller is present. If it is a controller that is on the list of supported controllers, then make sure that you check the box. You can also "Register" your controller from here so that it is locked in as your primary controller when using Steam.

If you need to obtain or use controls for a specific game, then you must first connect your controller and be sure it is recognized, then check to see if the game has Controller Support (Partial or Full) through Steam. Look up your game in the search bar and then navigate down on the games main Steam page. On the right, it will say if it has No, Partial, or Full Controller Support. Then go to your Library and click on a game, then look on the right side of the screen you will see that it says "Links." There is a link to Controller Configurations if the game has controller support. You can go in there and Browse Controller Configurations for your game. Most games that have full support have the controls pre-setup for you, but some will not. That is where you will likely need to go to good ol' YouTube to see the best way/configuration for your game/controller. Hope this helped!

[mjengel13]

Actually, I also have this VERY IMPORTANT TIDBIT on what to do if your controller is not working with Steam while using JoyToKey:

RE-EDITED TO INCLUDE MORE CLEARLY WRITTEN INSTRUCTIONS:

So I might have a solution to your problem...

The game, I assume, might have Steam Controller support, which means that Steam could be running the game trying to use its (Steam's) controls that were set up for the game because the controller is automatically detected by Steam...And if you are trying JoyToKey at the same time that you are trying to use Steam, then it is detecting the input from the controller through both programs, creating a conflict in the games ability to detect just one input coming from two programs detecting the controller.

I had an issue with JoyToKey and Steam that coincided with using my Bluetooth dongle vs using my USB (connected directly to my controller and the computer).

I was trying to use my controller with JoyToKey to play Earthworm Jim using my Bluetooth dongle. I went in to Earthworm Jim and checked what the controls were and then set them up in JoyToKey.

But any time that I started Steam with JoyToKey running, I would magically see that the JoyToKey connection through my Bluetooth to my controller would stop working as soon as Steam loaded up. But then the whole time my controller was plugged in with a USB, I had no issue.

When my controller was plugged in via USB OR through my Bluetooth and Steam was running (And NOT JoyToKey!) it was a really bright electric blue, so I did some research and found that it is that bright electric blue color when the controller is connected to Steam via their Controller Support - which has you register your controller with Steam when using the program for games with a controller - no matter if it's through Bluetooth or a USB connection - it automatically detects and registers when it is plugged in via USB (OR paired to your computer if using Bluetooth) and Steam is launched.

A way to be sure of this is, if you get the "Would you like to use Big Picture Mode?" from Steam, then it's detecting your controller and trying to get you to use their service similar to how a console works, but with your computer acting as the console. Big picture mode is just a way of going full screen if you happen to have a large TV or large monitor plugged into your computer.

tl;dr

...ANYWAYS...

I wanted JoyToKey to work WITH STEAM GAMES and with my Bluetooth but I didn't want Steam basically "stealing" my controller from working with JoyToKey, my preferred program...

So, I went to my Steam Settings, and went to my controller, and went into the gamepad/controller configuration menu on Steam. I found that my controller was recognized and Registered by Steam (to my account) and was still glowing a bright electric blue. I saw that it recognized my contoller (PS4 controller was checked on the left side of the screen), so I clicked "Deregister" (top right, yellow, next to your "steam name") and then I made sure that no controllers were registered or recognized on the left side of the screen - no controllers were checked. I was using a Playstation 4 controller, and it was plugged in via USB at this time.

I then shut down JoyToKey and Steam entirely (through Task Manager, highlight the program and then press the "Delete" key, not "Backspace") This closes your program entirely so that it is completely shut down and no background apps for it are running. Steam is called the "Steam Client Bootstrapper (32-bit)" and JoyToKey is "Convert joystick input to keyboard/mouse input (32-bit)" (32-bit for me...on my computer)

I then connected my controller to my computer using my Bluetooth dongle and made sure it was paired in PC settings>PC and devices>Bluetooth - it was now paired and a whitish baby blue color when it connected - I then restarted JoyToKey and then Steam (in that order) to apply the changes, And *BOOM*, JoyToKey started registering my controller through the Bluetooth dongle and the color of my controller stayed a whitish baby blue when I launched Steam (instead of that bright electric blue), meaning that it was no longer recognized by Steam (a sure way to tell) AND it was registering my button-presses in JoyToKey.

This was tricky to figure out as I had previously read on reddit and some other Steam forums that you can't deactivate controller configurations on Steam for games that have Partial or Full Steam Controller Support (a reviewable asset that you can check each game for before you purchase them on Steam). THIS IS NOT TRUE! You can, you simply "Deregister" your controller in the Steam Settings and use JoyToKey instead. You can always quickly Re-register your controller with Steam in the settings, too!

So if you want to play one game with JoyToKey, you can; And then if you want to play a game where you use the Steam Controller Configurations for the game, you can. Just Register the controller when you want to use the Steam Controller Configurations. And Unregister your controller (and then close Steam, then open JoyToKey <-Run As Administrator- and relaunch Steam) if you want to use JoyToKey instead.

To reiterate, again, important stuff:

1) If using Bluetooth, make sure your controller is plugged in and/or paired via Bluetooth to your computer first if using Bluetooth (search PC Settings on your computer, go to PC and Devices, and then click Bluetooth to check)

(if using USB, just plug in to controller and computer)

2) Then start JoyToKey (REMEMBER to Run JoyToKey "As Administrator," - ((just right-click the JoyToKey icon and click "Run as Administrator")) and make sure it is working with your controller by pressing some random buttons and seeing if they register

3) And THEN open up Steam and play your game. As long as you Deregistered your controller using the instructions above, then JoyToKey should now work just fine with Steam without any issues with JoyToKey.

Side Note: Most game sites have a list of the PC controls and what keys on the keyboard they correspond to, so setting up the buttons for games works very well once set-up in JoyToKey; So well, that doing that little bit of work yourself is, by far, your biggest time saver and it's only $7, which I was willing to pay once I saw the real benefits of the program. You can pay as a Guest on PayPal so you don't need an account either. But Steam controller support is honestly terrible and not available for all games! With JoyToKey, you can use this for anything you want to do on your computer, not just games, and it's literally pressing a button on your controller that is assigned to a button on your keyboard and you can even use your mouse through your joysticks on your controller (fairly easy to set up as well).

SUPER SIDE NOTE FOR EARTHWORM JIM 1 and 2 USERS: Coincidentally, with Earthworm Jim 1 and 2, you cant use the "S" key (or several others for that matter including "R" & "P"), so WASD isn't even possible. I just went up one row (2QWE), and set that up in the game, and then in JoyToKey I did the same thing and it works fine with and without a controller now (if that helps anyone, let me know, it's really only for if you want to use the keyboard controls easier)

[mjengel13]

And, lets not forget:

If your game has Steam Controller support and you are using a game pad with that Support and NOT JoyToKey, then in your game you need to go to Options and make sure that it is set to "Use Joypad" and NOT the mouse/keyboard.

If you are using JoyToKey, then go to Options in your game and make sure that it is set to "Use Mouse/Keyboard" and NOT the Joypad.

*Joypad is any controller

[Nintega137]

Sorry but none of this helped. This game used to work just fine naturally. Just plug a controller in and it worked. Is it a windows 10 issue maybe? It worked fine on an older laptop. I can't figure out the issue. But although it recognizes a controller is plugged in and it just doesn't work. Even though I know for sure this game supports it. Even if I go in steam and try to reconfigure my controller to keyboard controlls it doesn't work.

[mjengel13]

Sorry to hear, that's about all I got. Windows 10 has been messing a whole lot of good things up lately

[alaphic]

I was having the exact same problem, and ended up stumbling onto a surprisingly simple solution:

1) Right-click on Before the Echo in your library on Steam
2) Choose Manage -> Browse Local Files
3) Run the xnafx40_redist.exe file in the folder that opens just to ensure that the necessary XNA Framework files are present in your OS
4) Right-click on Sequence.exe, and then select "Properties"
5) Click on the tab at the top of the Properties window labelled "Compatibility"
6) Deselect the checkbox beside the "Run this program in compatibility mode for..." and then click the "Ok" button at the bottom of the Properties window

YMMV, but after I did a fresh install of the game on Windows 10 I ran into the exact same issue only to find that (for some inexplicable reason) the exe defaults to running in XP compatibility mode, which breaks controller input.

Hope this helps you out!

[Dr.Shadowds 🐉]

Ensure to install the drivers needed to run the game 1st, then head to where you install the game, and open installscript.vdf file with Notepad, and change the text WINXPSP3 to WIN10, and you're basically done.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=502010977

[Nintega137]

I don't have anything in my properties window labeled "compatibility".

[Nintega137]

I got it to work now thanks.

[Susurrus]

Thanks for the compatibility mode removal suggestion. I did notice kind of weird though that even after unselecting it, every time I opened the game it put it back. Then I tried starting the game from the exe itself instead of steam and it worked.

[𓂀𓂏𓂀]

Originally posted by Dr.Shadowds 🐉:

Ensure to install the drivers needed to run the game 1st, then head to where you install the game, and open installscript.vdf file with Notepad, and change the text WINXPSP3 to WIN10, and you're basically done.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=502010977

this worked! it's sad to see old indie games fall into disrepair like this but at least the hacks work.

[Aki]

PS5 controller. No luck. Had to restart to allow xnafx40_redist to do it's thing. It was stuck on a "something else wants to install something, retry?" loop until restarting and running it first. Tried disabling the compatibility to learn that the vdf script was resetting that. Set the script to Win10. Set it to off. Ran from Steam. Ran from exe. No luck.

Game says it is playable on keyboard, but I can't figure out how to do spells from keyboard beyond the number keys casting a spell slot, and 1 seems to be right spell, and 2 the left spell. If the spells were just labeled a number on screen, I could probably keyboard the game.

[bancron]

Thank you very much alaphic! That fixed it.

[Aki]

Tried again. Disappointed again.